As an ophthalmic photographer by day, and a crafter by night, I welcome you to a world of my favorite things: crafting, primitives, folk art, photography, antiques, thrift stores, and general weirdness! Hope you find a few ideas here; Happy Crafting! :)

Tis my favorite crafting time of the year…the season of painting SNOWMEN! They are easy, fun, and everyone loves them! I recently came across a new kind of paint that works great on glass surfaces, so I decided to try painting on some mason jars. The paint is DecoArt’s Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic. If you’ve tried painting on glass, you know it can be tricky. This stuff seems to have great coverage and “cures” after a few days, leaving a permanent finish. Here’s my finished product, and the how-to below!

This “looking up snowman” design is all over Pinterest, and I have been waiting to paint him forever! To get started, I did two coats of this pretty aqua color. Choose any color you want for the background. Coats were spaced about 3 hours apart. When applying the second coat, you risk “lifting” the first coat if it’s not completely dry. Unfortunately, patience is a must with this type of craft. A little tip; even after ample drying, try to apply the second coat quickly and lightly.

For the snowman head I decided to use a sponge stamper brush. This helps create the fuzzy edges of the head.

For the snow, I used the “splatter” technique. It’s pretty messy, but it works great! Put a little bit of paint in a bowl and water down just slightly. You want the paint to be a little thinner than how it comes in the bottle.

I protected the sink with some paper towels and went to town, flicking the paint brush at the jar to create the speckled snow look.

Once the heads were dry, I went on the paint the noses, rosy cheeks, and black dots for the mouth. Here’s an example of the “lifting” I was mentioning earlier. I was trying to fix one of the rosy cheeks and was painting the same little area over and over, and pressed a bit too hard. It pulled off all of the layers of paint in that area. Unfortunately it is hard to repair these types of paint tears without being super obvious….so I decided to scrap this jar.

I also added the big snowflake above his head, and a few larger white dots of snow. I’m so happy with how they turned out! The paint will cure after 4 days, or can be baked (directions on back of paint bottle). I chose to let them cure by air drying. According to the paint instructions there is no need for a final clear sealer!

After curing, I added a piece of twine and a rustic snowflake. I happened to have these on hand, but you could also little jingle bells, some pip berries, or other rusty shapes. Even just a little jute or homespun bow would be cute too!

You could put a tea light in the jar, or fill them with holiday treats! I will be giving these out as gifts stuffed with candy. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you all are enjoying all the fun crafts that comes along with the holiday season! 🙂

So glad you’re back! These are fantastic. Your crafts and directions are so well done. Just one thing, you went a tad too far with the snowflakes, as they have eight points instead of six. Omit either the horizontal line or the vertical one. Just draw a vertical line, then an X over it, and you’ll have six points. Just couldn’t help it, I’m a retired teacher.

I was so excited to see your e-mail! I have been a follower for years and just love your crafts-I am running out to get this paint today, I have so many Mason jars ( I have a little problem) This is such an adorable gift idea. I look forward to your next post. I have successfully made so many of your projects due to your clear directions and pictures. Thank you! Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much Lynne! I’m obsessed with this paint. I hope that the finish is as “permanent” as it claims, or at least holds up better than the acrylic with just a sealer. So far, so good! Have fun making your jars (I also have a mason jar hoarding problem) and Happy Holidays! Thanks for being a loyal reader all these years!!! maggie 🙂

I’ll have to try that sometime Cheryl. I have never spray painted them, only tried various types of acrylics, brushed on. Considering there’s a foot of snow outside right now I’ll have to hold off on spraying til the Spring! haha. Thanks for the tip!!! maggie

Ahh, so glad to see you post! Still my first and fav prim blog that actually started me in my prim crafting, lol! I love this, mostly bc I can’t paint a stick figure and have it look recognizable! Actually, I can paint… I just can’t draw! And, this is awesome, bc really no drawing necessary! Thanks for posting, esp where u can apply this snowman technique anywhere! Thanks again, and Merry Merry!!!

I also have a mason jar excess and want to try these adorable snowmen. Have missed your posts and hope to hear more from you soon. Your ideas are always great but not hard to make with your understandable instructions.

Oh my goodness this little snowman is so cute! I am not a fan of snow. I have not even a single snowman or snowflake in my home décor, that’s how much I dislike snow. But, I am in love with this little guy!! He just might make me a convert! Really lovely work, you are so talented!

OOOH I’m soooo happy you’re back!!! I was thrilled to get yor email!!! I Love the Mason Jar and the Stacked Snowmen are FABULOUS also! I love the adorable snowman looking up like He’s admiring and so happy to see the snow!! Love everything rustic and country that you make!!! Thanks for the new paint! Excited to get it and try it!!
Merry Christmas,
Erica Smith

Hi Erica, thank you for your sweet comment!! Holidays make crafting more fun so I tend to get back into it around this time. Hope you have fun if you try this new paint, I freakin love it! Happy holidays to you and your family! 🙂 Maggie

Hi Gina, just a little sponge brush and dabbed on the pink! You could even cut out a little tiny round piece of a kitchen sponge and use that, really lightly to get the soft edges. 🙂 Thank you for visiting!

Hi Debbie! If you look closely at the jars there are some subtle brush streaks. I think the type of paint you use has a lot to do with it. This paint offered really good coverage and with the second coat making the jars so opaque, you don’t see the streaks as much. I’d say just experiment with the types of paint you use. Hope that helps!

Hi Alison, when you say coal you mean the black dots for the mouth, right? I used a black sharpie paint pen. They are a great tool for fine painting work like that. Hope it helps, I am sure they look awesome! Happy Holidays ~maggie

Hi! Sorry for the delayed response! I just free-handed the nose and snowflake. Maybe try a few practice ones on another jar so you can get the hang of it. I am sure it will look great, there’s really no wrong way to do them!!! Good luck and hope you enjoy trying this project 😀 maggie

Welcome to Eyeballs By Day, Crafts By Night!

As an ophthalmic photographer by day, and a crafter by night, I welcome you to a world of my favorite things: primitives, country crafts, folk art, photography, antiques, flea markets, thrift stores, eyeballs, and enjoying the simple things in life!